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U.S. Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson announced today that the United States has decided to stop its participation in the U.N. process to develop a Global Compact on Migration (GCM). Secretary Tillerson issued this statement:

Negotiations on the GCM will be based on the New York Declaration, a document adopted by the UN in 2016 that commits to “strengthening global governance” and contains a number of policy goals that are inconsistent with U.S. law and policy.

While we will continue to engage on a number of fronts at the United Nations, in this case, we simply cannot in good faith support a process that could undermine the sovereign right of the United States to enforce our immigration laws and secure our borders.

The United States supports international cooperation on migration issues, but it is the primary responsibility of sovereign states to help ensure that migration is safe, orderly, and legal.

protect the safety, dignity and human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, regardless of their migratory status, and at all times;

support countries rescuing, receiving and hosting large numbers of refugees and migrants;

integrate migrants in humanitarian and development assistance frameworks and planning;

combat xenophobia, racism, and discrimination towards all migrants;

develop, through a state-led process, non-binding principles and voluntary guidelines on the treatment of migrants in vulnerable situations; and

strengthen global governance of migration, including by bringing International Organization for Migration (IOM) into the United Nations family and through the development of a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration